BREAKING POINTE: Beckanne Sisk Teases the End of the Season

Viewers have been following the ups and downs of the lives of the Ballet West dancers for the first season of BREAKING POINTE and Thursday night, the journey concludes as the performers get ready for their closing night.

I spoke with BREAKING POINTE star Beckanne Sisk about being on the reality series, connecting with fans, and the whole “mahogany” thing…

How have things changed for you since the show started airing? Beckanne Sisk: Nothing has really changed that much. I’m still doing the same things I’ve always done. I’ve gotten a lot more feedback online which is really cool. I feel like a lot of young girls talk to me much more and I really enjoy that. And really nothing has changed. I just feel like more dancers know about more of what it’s like.

You’ve been pretty open about not feeling like you fit in with the rest of the dancers. Have you had the chance to speak with any of them since the show started airing? BS: I’ve only kept in touch with Katie. I’m not really friends with the others and we haven’t really talked. Some of my other friends that were in the company who weren’t really featured on the show did kind of get their feelings hurt because they felt like I didn’t talk about them ever, you know? But it did seem like I didn’t have many friends outside of Katie, but I do. I have lots of friends. Just not as close as Katie.

You mentioned that people have been talking with you online about the series. Things like you not fitting in with the rest of the dancers or Katie moving away could be considered an “arc” on a show, but that’s your real life. Is it weird to have people giving you feedback on that? BS: I’ve really only gotten positive feedback, so it’s been so good. And it’s been so nice going through and reading all of them; it’s such an ego boost. [Laughs] But it’s great to know…I’m confident, but there are some people who are very sure of themselves. I still doubt myself sometimes, so it’s nice to know I am doing the right thing and other people do appreciate me and what I do.

That’s good to hear. Is there anything so far that you’ve been shocked to see end up on air, or something you were surprised didn’t make the final cut? BS: Um, no, I mean, there’s some stuff I had forgotten had happened and then I watched and I was like, “Oh my goodness!” Like when I said “mahogany” [instead of monogamous], I had completely forgotten that had ever happened. So that was kind of a shock to see that. But really, no, nothing was really too unexpected. And there wasn’t anything I thought that was going to be shown that wasn’t.

Are you ever going to live the mahogany comment down? BS: [Laughs] I don’t think so. Everyone kind of makes fun of me for that.

Well, you can embrace it. Jessica Simpson had her Chicken of the Sea moment on NEWLYWEDS. This isn’t quite the same, but I think you can make this a thing. BS: Yeah, it’s going to be the new thing.

So looking forward, you haven’t seen the finale, correct? BS: I haven’t.

Well, since it centers around closing night, what can you say about your experiences that you hope makes it on screen? BS: Well, closing night, everyone is usually so excited to be done. We’re all going to miss it, but we’re excited to be done. And usually closing night is when everyone goes balls to the walls and does it all, just gives it everything. So I hope that it shows through that we’re more comfortable by the end, ready to be done and it’s an exciting last performance.

We’ve already seen drama with Rex falling, so are there any kinds of physical on-stage problems we’ll be seeing? BS: I don’t know. I think everyone is pretty healthy by this point and doing everything.

That’s good, because again, this is real life and we don’t want people to be hurt. BS: Exactly. [Laughs]

Is it a little weird to see how much aspects of some of your fellow dancers’ lives have been made into a soap opera on the show? Or do you feel like you’re living with that no matter what so it feels natural? BS: Well, the drama between couples is pretty much always like that. They’ve always been up and down and all over the place, so it was expected for me.

Have you given any thought about a potential season 2? BS: I haven’t heard anything, but I would love to do a season 2.

It’s great that the show has exposed so many people to this world. BS: And that’s why people say they enjoy it so much: all the other dance shows, they don’t show what really happens. This is a reality TV show and it shows what real ballet companies do.

So what are you doing on your time off? Are you doing anything dance-related, or are you taking a break? BS: I’m taking a break right now, I’m about to leave for Philadelphia, and I’m going to be a resident assistant for my old ballet school.

So when do you go back to Ballet West? BS: I go back August 6th.

Are you expecting it to be business as normal when you go back?
BS: You know, I don’t know. I feel like there might be some tension at first, just because none of us — well, I don’t know about other people, but I haven’t spoken to anyone about any of this stuff that has been shown on TV yet. So it’s always been an unspoken thing between us, so it’s going to be interesting to go back and see them face-to-face.

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The season finale of BREAKING POINTE airs Thursday, July 5th at 8 PM on The CW. Will you be tuning in?